Cheap Books at "The Works"

Just don't go downstairs if you are of a moral or nervous disposition; a vicar, a maiden aunt or in posession of a soiled coat intended to keep off the rain.

The ground floor back room of Henry Pordes - further down the Charing Cross Road towards Trafalgar Square - has fewere titles but comparable stock to Lovejoys. Yeah, OK, I get stuff from Lovejoys too. Upstairs.

Oops should have said 'unless you are in possession...'

Tend to pop in the Lovejoys once a week as I work 10 minutes away. Once bumped into someone from work right outside who clearly didn't believe my First World War excuse!

Interests:Great War in general ,collector 40+ years battlefield exploreing over 40 years collecting photo albums ,paper work, diarys letters and medals . General intrest Pas de Calais,and Northern France, Grandfather served 4th Hussars Grandad Joseph Ashley 1914/15 along side his brother .Exploring Normandy ,Agincourt ,Crecy, battlefields far and wide and discovering all aspects of Pas De Calais

Posted 19 December 2011 - 10:56 PM

For any Kent based people ,there is a seprate works at the Maritime shopping center which is larger than the Chatham branch and diffrent stock ,also does any one use the remainder book shop by Waterloo station ? well worth a look has quite a bit of stuff normaly stocked by Naval and Military .

Interests:Researching the war of Greengates, those who served, and the community behind them. Yorkshire regiments, Belgian and other beers.

Posted 19 December 2011 - 11:02 PM

I concur. I don't often travel by waterloo these days, but I always check the remainder shop and have found a few bargains there.

Similarly in Hampshire the shops run under "The Works" name vary considerably. The one in Portsmouth at Gunwharf is pants, but I have had several bargains at the branch in the Fareham shopping centre. Could they be a franchise operation, with the stock to some degree subject to the whim of the franchisee I wonder,

Interests:Great War in general ,collector 40+ years battlefield exploreing over 40 years collecting photo albums ,paper work, diarys letters and medals . General intrest Pas de Calais,and Northern France, Grandfather served 4th Hussars Grandad Joseph Ashley 1914/15 along side his brother .Exploring Normandy ,Agincourt ,Crecy, battlefields far and wide and discovering all aspects of Pas De Calais

Posted 19 December 2011 - 11:22 PM

You could be correct as the one at Mcarthur Glen in Ashford Kent is awful ,were as the Chatham maritime one had the Kitchners Boys and one on Luftwaffe postcards ! as you say over the years the Waterloo shop has had some super stuff and with out the postage from Naval and Military .

Half way through 'Drawing Fire' - it's great!! Like many of his generation you can tell there are certain things he does not want to talk about and quickly brushes over, but you still sense the emotion as he does so. Great drawings too!!

Whilst members sing the praises of "The Works" here is another highly recommended discount book shop. I have never visited the Wells, Somerset branch without purchasing a book(s) lots of Pen & Sword editions plus many other WW1 & WW2 titles. The beauty of these shops is that the stock is renewed on a very regular basis and never fails to relieve me of cash!.

I echo that. I was there in Tuesday and did not spend a single penny on Great War stuff. Very poor fare. I blame websites like the GWF for whipping up a WW1 frenzy.

Hay is very over-hyped and having visited many times I have come to the conclusion that the kindest thing would be to pulp at least 95% of the books there turn the result into something useful. Never spent any sizable sum and I suspect that the decent books never get to the shelves for the public to buy.

Interests:The Western Front (all aspects, all nations). Collecting Great War militaria (uniforms and equipment). Visiting the battlefields (all areas, not just the British areas). Meeting fellow enthusiasts, good beer and French wine! Oh and Daleks!!!

Posted 12 January 2012 - 07:49 PM

Lovejoys, Tottenham Court Road had a good selection last Saturday, got Dough boys for £4.99. A selection of narratives / memoirs from Americans on the Western Front. As ever I resisted the devils temptation to descend to the lower floors where a title like Doughboys could mean anything!!!???!!!!